LEGO SMART Play is taking the world by storm and Graham E. Hancock, editor of the monthly LEGO magazine, provides his thoughts to Dan Walker on 5 News.
Graham E. Hancock, editor of the monthly LEGO magazine, Blocks, appeared on Channel 5 News this week to provide expert commentary on LEGO SMART Play, the Danish toy company’s most significant innovation in decades.
Presented by Dan Walker, the segment explores how the LEGO Group’s new SMART Bricks introduce sound and interactive responses while maintaining the familiar look and feel of traditional LEGO bricks. Graham explains that the technology is housed within a brick only slightly taller than a classic 2×4, allowing it to integrate seamlessly into existing LEGO models.
LEGO SMART Play will debut in three sets:
- 75421 Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, coming with 473 pieces and 1 SMART Minifigure for £59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99
- 75423 Luke’s Red Five X-wing, coming with 584 pieces and 2 SMART Minifigures for £79.99 / $99.99 / €89.99
- 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing, coming with 962 pieces and 3 SMART Minifigures for £139.99 / $159.99 / €159.99
During the interview, Graham addresses common concerns around innovation and creativity, noting that the LEGO Group has always evolved its offerings to reflect how children play.
“Well, I think everyone who has played with LEGO bricks as a child has been told by a grandparent or someone ‘back in my day, it was just boxes of coloured bricks,’” says Graham. “The LEGO Group is always going to progress, always going to try and find new ways to engage children. I think that’s just part and parcel of being a company that has lasted for so long and that is always looking to what kids are doing today and what kids want today.
“Kids today are aging out of toys earlier than ever before and switching over to more screen based activities. But if this LEGO set that’s on the shelf has got a SMART Brick in it, and they fly it around and it’s going to make a noise, it gives them that impetus to pick it up and play with it, and probably leads to a bigger play session that goes beyond what the SMART Brick can do.”
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“It’s interesting you say that because I was looking at the stats, and they say that kids now, compared to 20 years ago, are playing with physical toys eight hours less a week than they were two decades ago,” Dan says. “And in a tech saturated world, this is a great innovation from the LEGO Group.”
“I think it’s great because there’s no screen involved, with a lot of other tech based toys where you need a mobile device or a tablet or something to use alongside the toy,” Graham responds. “Whereas with this, all the power is within the brick and the tiles and the minifigures, so it’s all tactile. It’s all things that children are going to be physically playing with, rather than being a screen based thing.”
Importantly, the segment confirms that classic LEGO sets remain a core part of the LEGO portfolio. Builders can continue to enjoy traditional LEGO building exactly as before, while SMART Brick sets still require construction before their interactive features are activated, ensuring that building remains central to the LEGO experience.
The conversation concluded with Dan and Graham acknowledging the broad appeal of LEGO products across generations, from young children discovering LEGO for the first time to fans and collectors who continue to build, display and play well into adulthood.
Graham E. Hancock’s appearance on Channel 5 News reinforces Blocks magazine’s role as a trusted voice within the LEGO community, offering informed insight on the past, present and future of LEGO play.
If you’d like to learn more about the SMART Play platform, you can read Blocks’ in-depth look at how the SMART Brick works; and analyses of the upcoming March 1 SMART Play sets (plus some more teased ones). You can also check out relevant videos on Blocks’ YouTube channel.
If you’re interested in reading some different takes about how LEGO SMART Play will affect LEGO sets, you can check out Blocks Editor Graham E. Hancock’s outlook on the future of the SMART platform as well as Block News Writer Ryan Everleth’s thoughts on the prices of the sets.
To find out when new LEGO sets are announced, sign up to our free newsletter. Of course, if you really want to upgrade your LEGO hobby for the true insider experience, take out a subscription to Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine for fans. Upcoming issues will feature everything SMART Play, including exclusive articles and reviews of all the launch day sets.
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